Since there's been so much crap about communist, tree hugging, faggot, anti-troop, liberal, part of the great left wing media conspiracy, activists hating our country, I thought this was a quite great article. And please, read the entire article before you make comments.

Please spare me the lecture. Likewise, don't bother asking me why I refuseto tie a yellow ribbon around the tree in my front yard, or put out a flag,or slather my Honda Civic with "Support the Troops" bumper stickers. I don'tfeel like explaining it every time someone wants answers to these questions,and anyway, you probably wouldn't like my reasons to begin with.

You claim that we must now put aside our different opinions about thepropriety of war with Iraq, and rally 'round the President, the country, andour men and women in uniform. But you are wrong, and I imagine that at somelevel you know this to be true.

After all, do we really have an obligation to support the troops no matterwhat they do as they prosecute this slaughter against a minor leagueopponent? Would you indeed support the troops if their mission involvednuclear incineration of Iraqi cities and villages? One, two, many My Laimassacres?

Beyond hypotheticals, should we support the troops even as they carry outthe announced plan to launch nearly a thousand cruise missiles into Iraq'smajor population centers within forty-eight hours of war? With the UNestimating that upwards of a half-million Iraqis might die as a result ofthis war, can you really say without any sense of misgiving that we should"support the troops" come what may, and that failure to do so should bebranded un-American?

Don't misunderstand. I guess one could say that I too support the troops,but surely not in the way that you and other flag-wavers intend.

I support them being able to make a living and get an education withouthaving first to subordinate their consciences to a military establishmentthat vitiates critical thought, reflection and free will, so as to createmore efficient killing machines. How about you?

I support them not being lied to about the chemicals and depleted uranium towhich they will likely be exposed. How about you?

I support them refusing to fly their planes, refusing to bomb civilianinfrastructure, like water treatment facilities, the destruction of whichwill create mass epidemics and cause the deaths of thousands of children.How about you?

I support them refusing to move their tanks against civilians. How aboutyou?

I support them deserting, going AWOL, and disobeying the unlawful ordersthat are the hallmark of modern warfare--unlawful because they almost alwaysviolate international law, such as Article 54 of the Geneva Conventions,which makes it a certifiable war crime to target any facility the integrityof which is necessary to the functioning of civilian life.

I support the troops as fathers and mothers; as children; as brothers andsisters; as human beings and free moral agents, all of which they were longbefore they became the foot soldiers of a swaggering empire, led by afunctionally-illiterate cowboy with no knowledge of history, who couldn'tfind Iraq on a map if it wasn't labeled first, and whose drive to massmurder seems motivated as much by a desire to win the love of his daddy asanything more substantive.

I support the troops arresting any American solider who they see killing anIraqi civilian, or ordering the same. They should turn their guns on theirown in such a situation, in the name of defending the innocent and in regardto a higher law to which they are bound.

But I do not support the troops following orders that will kill scores ofinnocent people. I will not cheer the light show over Baghdad, thebulldozing of Iraqi soldiers beneath desert sand, burying them alive as wasdone in the first Gulf War; nor will I support the strafing of Iraqisoldiers as they retreat or seek to surrender, as was also done in the firstGulf War, in what was described at the time as a "turkey shoot."

Any soldier that engages in those kinds of actions deserves not support butrather prosecution under accepted standards of international law for thecommission of war crimes. Following orders was no excuse at Nuremberg and itwill be no excuse in Basra either.

Indeed, military personnel are sworn to obey orders only when those ordersare lawful, according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. What's more,in their oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, all members of themilitary are bound by Article VI of that document which makes internationaltreaties and agreements the highest law of the land. As such, followingorders to prosecute this war violates the oath taken by the troops, sinceArticle 51 of the UN Charter allows war only in immediate self-defense orwhen the Security Council has directed or authorized use of force tomaintain or restore international peace and security, neither of whichcondition applies here.

And since Article 2 of the Charter makes clear that war is not legitimatefor the purpose of regime change, the attack underway is by definition acriminal act, in violation of international law and thus the Constitution.It is an impeachable offense, far more serious than getting a blow job andlying about it.

And saying this is not giving aid and comfort to the enemy, as you suggest.What gives aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States is theprosecution of an unjust war itself. It is this war that will aid ourenemies, by giving them yet another issue around which to rally terrorists,suicide bombers, hijackers and other assorted fanatics.

Bombing a nation like Iraq, especially after eviscerating it for over adecade with sanctions, can serve no purpose but to enhance the likelihood ofterrorism, and even the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, sinceonly being in clear possession of such materials (as with North Korea) seemscapable of deterring attack by the U.S.

And no, it is not my job to fall in line, just so the morale of soldiers canreceive a boost. I want the morale of soldiers to plummet. I want them toquestion the propriety of their assignments, and I want them to be soconflicted about that mission that they simply refuse to do their jobs. Ifcriticism of this war harms troop morale and can create internal dissent anddivisions among the U.S. military, then we need more of it, not less. Livesare worth more than morale; worth more than self-image; worth more thansoldiers' feelings.

And since it is with my money and in my name that any killing of Iraqis willproceed, I have not just a right but an obligation to speak out against thewar if I consider it unjust. When my nation kills, I kill, and I don't takethe thought of collaboration lightly. Collaboration puts my soul injeopardy. So while the troops may use my money to do their dirty work, don'texpect me to say amen. My soul is more important than their morale. So isyours.

As a father, I believe that this war will endanger the life of my daughter(and my daughter to be) down the line. That by creating even more embitteredMuslims--embittered towards my nation because they can, after all, read themarkings on the bomb casings that say, "Made in the USA"--this war will laythe groundwork for a form of payback that will make 9/11 look like a globalfender-bender. Survivors have long memories, and the truth be told, wesimply can't kill them all. It is those long memories that will haunt mychildren and their children, for as James Baldwin reminded us, "There is nocreation of any society more dangerous than the man who has nothing to lose."

So no, I can't support the troops in the traditional sense, because if theydo their jobs, they contribute to the menacing of my family in years tocome, and my family's safety is more important than their morale. So isyours.

But I do support the troops in the ways that truly matter. Do you?

I support those troops of color in their continuing quest to be treated asequals at all times, and not merely when they are picking up a gun to killfor America: that means that I support the struggle against the racism thatthose same troops too often face in their homeland. How about you?

I support those troops who are women in their continuing struggle againstsexual assault and harassment, in general and specifically at places likethe Air Force Academy, where some of their male counterparts apparentlythink it their duty to abuse them as sex objects. How about you?

I support those troops who are gay or lesbian in their quest for equitabletreatment and the right to be true to themselves and not have to hide theirsexual orientations so as to pander to another soldier's bigotry. How aboutyou

I support those troops who are poor; specifically I support their right tohealth care, and a college education and a job and shelter, and a livingwage. And I support these things for them whether in or out of uniform. AndI support these same things for the families of the troops back home. Howabout you?

It is not the anti-war movement whose concern for the troops should bequestioned, but rather that of the men who send them to battle, to faceweapons that those same men (or their fathers) sold to the other side in thefirst place.

Those men who never faced war themselves--and in the case of the Presidentwent AWOL to avoid even a stateside National Guard assignment duringVietnam--but who are quick to use others as the fighting, bombing appendagesto their own shriveled manhoods.

Those men who think that respect for international law can be instilled bydisregarding international law, international opinion and the primaryinternational decision making body on the planet.

Those men who think it appropriate to build up monsters around the globe andthen criticize those monsters for doing exactly what we knew they would doall along.

Those men who believe they are entitled to say which nations can havecertain types of weapons and which cannot; which nations can ignore UNresolutions and which must follow them; which nations are allowed to oppresstheir own people and which must be held to a higher standard.

Those men who believe that "our vital national interests" like the free flowof oil at market prices outweigh the right of Iraqi children to walk, laugh,play, or simply breathe.

For it is these men who view the troops as expendable, and who see them asone-dimensional tools for destruction, rather than as human beings. It isthese men who are putting the troops in harm's way so as to satisfy theirown ambitions.

And it is we who oppose this war who seek to bring them back in onepiece--physically and emotionally.

So please, spare me the lecture.

Tim Wise is a writer, antiracist activist and father. He can be reached attimjwise@msn.com

Just looks like a guy trying to rationalize his disgust for the President and military while portraying himself as being above anyone that disagrees with him and especially those involved in the military. Just an arrogant A-hole, IMHO.